The Hunters' Ambush
Following her lead, I couldn't help but feel a swell of pride as my stats clearly surpassed the bottom rungs of F-rank hunters. It was almost like starting fresh with a new character and leveling it up again—surprisingly fun. Sa-bak, sa-bak. Since we'd just cleared out the White Knights, we probably wouldn't run into anyone that strong for a while. Still, we stayed vigilant. She already seemed to understand that maintaining basic discipline like this was the simplest way to avoid future dangers.
After hunting eleven more goblins and four slimes, Yeonhee quickly finished a late lunch with some rice balls, and we headed toward the entrance.
"Today's haul wasn't bad. But goblins aren't giving much experience anymore. Leveling up is definitely slowing down."
I didn't know her exact stats, but she looked to be around mid-level 10. From that point on, even hundreds of goblins wouldn't make leveling easy, so we'd need to move to a higher dungeon soon.
"Growth stalling like this is unbearable for even a day. I wonder how the veterans put up with it."
Clack-clack-clack.
There were people often called "dungeon-bound spirits"—lifetime hunters who stayed in one spot, earning just enough money without risking higher dungeons. Even in this dungeon, one step above the lowest where skeleton soldiers and slimes appeared, you could reliably pull in 200-250 a month if you worked hard. Plenty of people were satisfied with that.
Not many can maintain that drive for improvement. And facing creatures with clear killing intent wasn't something most could handle with a clear head. Statistics showed that 30% of awakened hunters quit within three months of passing the hunter exam.
On the way to the entrance, we took down seven more goblins, and my level rose again.
With stats now high enough to handle two or three goblins with ease, my steps felt lighter. Then—
Freeze.
Three hunters caught in my sensory web. A moment later, Yeonhee spotted them too. She grabbed my hand, and we both crouched low.
(······)
We held our breath, carefully scanning our surroundings while waiting for the strangers to pass.
"Come on out~ I know you're there~"
"Just let us see the real thing, heh heh."
"Kuhuhuhu, slurp—"
Scout types? Some hunters awakened with enhanced vision, hearing, or smell beyond just Perception. These seemed to be that type.
Still about an hour to the entrance... Dungeons were essentially lawless zones. Whatever these guys did in here would never reach the outside world—modern equipment deactivated and moved to inventory upon entry.
I focused my senses on them, roughly gauging the mana cloaking their bodies.
They've reached the minimum level to enter this dungeon... Did they come specifically targeting Yeonhee? Hunters at that level should have moved to higher dungeons long ago. Their gear didn't look like they were dungeon-bound either.
(Let's run...)
Nod.
Three people stronger than Yeonhee meant certain defeat in a head-on fight. Even striking first was uncertain. We needed to escape before they closed the distance.
Ta-at!
"Hihihik! Hunt's on!!"
"Smash the skeleton first! Don't miss the rune drop!"
"Got it, slice!"
So they were after us. One of the survivors must've leaked the info. All this over a low-grade rune? Seriously, what the hell. They wouldn't come just for a rune worth maybe a million won. They wanted both Yeonhee and the rune—filthy bastards.
Jo Giman, you bastard. You could've blocked this kind of thing in advance. The future had already diverged because of me, so I had to handle it myself, but his face still came to mind unpleasantly. Their movement speed was slightly faster than ours by my Perception reading—being caught was only a matter of time.
Acid spray is all we've got.
I had to create an opening. While running, I opened my mouth full of acid for Yeonhee to see. She nodded immediately.
Mana: 17(-3)
Stealth and acid spray consumed three mana, and my form gradually blended into the surroundings and vanished.
"Huh?! Where'd the skeleton go?!"
"Did she unsummon it?!"
"Whoa whoa~ Miss? Wanna have a go?"
Yeonhee turned, took a stance, and placed a hand on her bowstring. The three men spread out and approached. Their words were light, but their movements carried professional precision. Yet I'd already closed in on the shortest one, who looked the most agile, and sprayed acid right in his face to start the fight.
Chwaaak!
"Hik!! Aaaaargh—! My eyes! My eyes!!"
I followed up with [Smash] to the back of the acid-blinded man's head.
Mana: 16(-4)
Baak!
The short man collapsed, blood spraying. Immediately, a hammer flew toward me.
Pagagak!
"You bastard!"
I tried blocking with my club, but it shattered, and the hammer smashed into my right shoulder blade.
Ba-gak!
Something in my shoulder broke loudly, but my eyes stayed locked on the swordsman blocking Yeonhee's arrow.
Tch, of course not.
Two warriors and one rogue. The one I'd half-killed first was the rogue with daggers; the hammer and greatsword users were still intact. The one who'd attacked me wielded a blunt weapon—worst matchup possible.
"Die!"
[Acid Spray]
Puhwaak!
Mana: 15(-1)
"Kak—! You piece of trash!"
I sprayed acid at the man raising his hammer to finish me. He flinched and backed away. I quickly activated Stealth again, slipped away, and pulled another club from my inventory.
Mana: 14(-1)
Reactivating Stealth within a short time halved the mana cost. I also grabbed a rock in my other hand and threw it at the swordsman still swinging at Yeonhee.
Baak!
"Agh, what the—!"
As he turned after the rock hit his shoulder, I was already in his face.
Puhwaak—!
"Aaaagh! Hot! What the hell are you doing, you pig bastard!"
"I don't know! He just disappeared!"
While the acid victim flailed his greatsword wildly, I activated Stealth once more.
"Sh-shit! He vanished again—"
Puuk!
"Aak! My leg!"
Yeonhee didn't miss the chance—she loosed an arrow into the hammer user's thigh. As I moved to smash the back of his head, a hammer swung from below.
Buuung—!
Baaak!
Damn it!
The large man's downward hammer strike crushed my leg completely.
This guy was the scout type! His twitching nose gave him away—he was an olfactory scout.
Did he smell the blood on me? With one leg destroyed, I lost balance and collapsed. At the same time, Yeonhee's dagger buried itself in the greatsword user's neck.
Puuk!
Puk! Pukpukpuk!!
"Krrrk—"
Yeonhee had thrown off her robe to blind him and stabbed his neck in one decisive move. Multiple stabs ensured the kill. Only the hammer user with an arrow in his thigh remained.
Baak!
Pagagak!
Stamina: 3/20(-17)
"This goddamn... How did it come to this?"
The man who'd smashed my torso with his hammer stared in disbelief at his fallen comrades.
Play dead...
He ignored my heavily damaged body and began approaching Yeonhee one step at a time.
"I won't kill you nicely. I'll make you beg for death."
"Why are you doing this to me?!"
"Kuhuhu— You'll find out soon enough with your body. Shame to keep you all to myself, hah!"
Despite the arrow in his thigh, his movements remained agile, and he charged at Yeonhee without hesitation.
Huh? Yeonhee's hurt too?! She must've been counterattacked by the greatsword guy. She'd taken a hit while stabbing him. Blood flowed heavily from her side.
This won't work. She can't win.
Yeonhee fired another arrow at his torso, but he blocked with thick arm guards and kept charging. She threw herself sideways and fled outward; he immediately gave chase.
Something... I need to do something.
Frustrated, I ground my teeth and looked around—when suddenly my body began moving as if pulled by something.
What...? Ah! The distance from Yeonhee!
It seemed that exceeding a certain distance from her was forcibly pulling my body toward her.